Apocryphicity

My Regensburg Year Part 4: November 2024

December 4, 2024 by Tony

Winter has come to Regensburg. Who would have thought it would be so . . . misty? There have been a few flurries but most of the time the sky has been grey and the air heavy with water. Not rain, just . . . wet. Seems like a good time to go somewhere warm.

But first, this past month we took a small trip to nearby Bamberg, a charming town an hour north of Nuremberg. The altstadt in the center has winding streets, plenty of medieval buildings, enough bridges to make you think of Venice (one section is actually called Little Venice), and a picturesque Altes Rathaus that has become the town’s iconic image.

Our major travel destination was France. My wife asked me to suggest somewhere to go to celebrate my birthday. I suggested Marseille because I was interested in visiting some sites related to apocryphal traditions about Mary Magdalene and Martha of Bethany, who are said to have evangelized Marseille and nearby Tarascon. Little did we know when we booked the trip that Marseille has one of the highest crimes rates in France but as it turns out, the sites I wanted to visit are not actually in the city. So we flew to Marseille but stayed in nearby Aix-en-Provence and went from there to Cannes and Nice. In Aix we saw some relics of Mary, Martha, and Lazarus (some very small bones) in the Cathédrale Saint-Sauveur (but no art, alas). Then we departed the city for …

My Regensburg Year Part 3: October 2024

November 4, 2024 by Tony

It’s October in Regensburg and the weather is finally becoming seasonal. Long gone now are the heat waves of August and September; we have even turned on the heat a few times. For some reason, the colder weather does not deter Regensburg natives and tourists from sitting outside at the restaurants and cafés. Perhaps the opportunity to smoke while drinking is more important than bodily warmth.

The big event for us this month was our second visit from home, this time in the form of my daughters Sophie and Meghan, along with Meghan’s boyfriend Kevin. Sophie arrived first and we took her to Salzburg overnight and to Dachau. Once Meghan and Kevin arrived, we all took a trip to Weltenberg Monastery (pictured above) in nearby Kelheim. Access to the monastery is via a scenic boat ride or a 5 km hike. There is not a lot to see at the monastery—it has a Biergarten serving the monastery’s own brews, a church, and a chapel; the scenery en route is really the appeal. Before long, Meghan and Kevin journeyed on to Prague and Sophie headed home to Canada. We were left once again to ourselves, but the travelling continued with another trip to Weltenberg (this time with our neighbours Sam and Roxanne, and by foot rather than by boat) and to Landshut. We were really not optimistic about Landshut, having been stuck there for a while on our way back from Hallstatt in September. But once you get away from the …

Christian Apocrypha at SBL 2024

October 28, 2024 by Tony

The 2024 Annual Meeting of the Society of Biblical Literature runs from November 23 to 26 in San Diego, California. I won’t be attending this year, but I can still post my usual roundup of sessions and individual presentations that focus on Christian Apocrypha. Take note of how many presenters this year are fellows of the Beyond Canon project at Universität Regensburg. Looks like I’ll be the only one left in the office!

1. Christian Apocrypha Sessions

S23-213 Christian Apocrypha (1:00 PM to 3:30 PM)
Janet Spittler, University of Virginia, Presiding

Thomas J. Kraus, Universität Zürich/University of the Free State: “What Did Jesus Christ Do between Death and Resurrection? The Descent of Christ into Hell (Gos.Nic.) and Some of Its Interrelations with Other Texts”

Martin Meiser, Universität des Saarlandes: “‘Acts of the Apostles’ within and beyond the Canon?.”

Triantafillos Kantartzis, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München: “Voice of the Unseen Narrator: Shaping the Christological Contours in the Acta pilati.”

Benjamin Lensink, Georg-August-Universität Göttingen: “Mygdonia: Model of the Perfect Christian in the Apocryphal Acts of Thomas.”

Timothy B. Sailors, Eberhard-Karls-Universität Tübingen: “Odes of Solomon 24 and Its Allusions to the Baptism of Jesus.”

S23-310 Christian Apocrypha / Jewish Christianity / Christian Judaism (4:00 PM to 6:30 PM)
Theme: Jewish Christianity/Christian Judaism and Christian Apocrypha
Jae Han, Brown University, Presiding

Daniel Maier, Københavns Universitet, Denmark: “Paradise Lost in Transmission: The Apocalypse of Peter as a Central Witness for the Conceptualisation of the Righteous’ Afterlife in Early Christian Literature and Its Ancient …

My Regensburg Year, Part 2: September 2024

October 3, 2024 by Tony

Our second month in Regensburg included a visit from home, an encounter with a “climate event,” and a meeting with the boss.

When we told our family and friends about our year-long stay in Regensburg, we invited everyone to come and visit if they were able. Few people, alas, have taken us up on this invitation. Is it because Germany is just not that attractive a tourist vacation? Is it the expense? Is it (gulp) US? We had our first intrepid visitor early this month when my mother came to town. Mum visits her sisters in England every year, so it was a quick and easy jump across the channel to see us. And because it was her first trip to continental Europe, we were determined to “show her a good time.” But we may have overdone it. My mum is quite fit even at 79 but she had to endure a lot of walking at the tail end of a heatwave. Still, she survived and together we explored the city (including our first visit to the Historische Museum for its Roman artifacts), and journeyed outside to nearby Passau, Munich, and Salzburg.

Our other major sightseeing excursion was a trip to Vienna that coincided with a major rain storm that resulted in floods throughout the region. Good timing! We’d like to say we “saw” Vienna but what we saw was mostly sidewalk as we pushed through the wind and rain with our heads down, moving from one museum or art …

My Regensburg Year, Part 1: August 2024

October 3, 2024 by Tony

“You should come work with us here in Regensburg.” These words from Tobias Nicklas in 2020 made my heart leap. I was in Regensburg for a conference held by Tobias’s Beyond Canon Project and fell in love with the town. Several of my friends and colleagues had already spent time at the project; it seemed the “place to be.” So I immediately began to think of how to make it happen.

My sabbatical in 2024/2025 would be a perfect opportunity. I had never spent time out of Canada on sabbatical before. I had family obligations (two daughters) and three cats to care for. But in 2020 I could see a time soon when the kids would be adults and the cats (sadly) would be meeting their maker. As the time approached, I solidified arrangements with Tobias, my wife and I helped the girls get established, and grieved our feline family members one after the other. Everything was falling into place.

We arranged to live at one of the university properties: the Gasthaus at Hinter der Grieb 8, a thirteenth-century building in the heart of the medieval city. Most apartments in the building are a single room but we managed to get a large one-bedroom unit that would enable us to host guests (we invited all of our family and friends). Staying in the same building are two English-speaking scholars we met in Oslo in June (Sam Cook and Roxanne Bélanger Sarrazin), and not far away are two others I had …

What More Do You Need? The Next Wave in Christian Apocrypha Texts and Translations

November 24, 2023 by Tony

The following paper was presented at the 2023 Annual Meeting of the Society of Biblical Literature.

This paper has two goals: to narcissistically acknowledge and celebrate the publication this past summer of the third volume of the More New Testament Apocrypha series, edited by me with contributions from numerous SBL and NASSCAL (North American Society for the Study of Christian Apocryphal Literature) members, and to consider, where we as members of the field might go next in our editing and translation efforts. The question is raised, in part, because Eerdmans, the publisher of the MNTA series, has said that it will publish additional volumes, and I am continually asked whether there will be More MNTA, to which I respond, “Why do you hate me so?” Because the volumes are a LOT of work and as my wife will attest, editing makes me very grumpy. I also have projects of my own to write; a scholar cannot live on editing alone. And I have to wonder how much additional volumes of MNTA are really needed, given the other options that have become available over the past few years for scholars to publish both texts and translations.

So this paper asks “What More Do You Need?” and by “you” I really mean “we,” the Christian apocrypha scholars of SBL and NASSCAL and anyone who studies and reads this material. As scholars who, I hope, want to collaborate, where do we go from here? What projects do we want to collaborate on? How …

Christian Apocrypha Books to Look for at SBL 2023

November 14, 2023 by Tony

The SBL Annual Meeting presents an ideal opportunity to check out new books on Christian apocrypha. As you make your way through the publishers’ exhibition, keep an eye out for these publications. If there is a book missing in the list, please pass along the details.

Baylor

Aageson, James. After Paul: The Apostle’s Legacy in Early Christianity. (CATALOG)

Brepols

Shoemaker, Stephen. The Dormition and Assumption of the Virgin Mary. (CATALOG)

Cambridge University Press

Jacobs, Andrew. Gospel Thrillers: Conspiracy, Fiction, and the Vulnerable Bible. (CATALOG)

Fortress Press

Heil, Uta, ed. The Apocryphal Sunday: History and Texts from Late Antiquity. (CATALOG)

InterVarsity Press

Laird, Benjamin P. Creating the Canon. (CATALOG)

Mohr Siebeck

Goldstein, Miriam. A Judeo-Arabic Parody of the Life of Jesus. The Toledot Yeshu Helene Narrative. (CATALOG)

Miroshnikov, Ivan (ed.). Parabiblica Coptica. (CATALOG)

Nagel, Peter. Codex apocryphus gnosticus Novi Testamenti. (CATALOG)

Lundhaug, Hugo, and Christian H. Bull (eds.). The Nag Hammadi Codices as Monastic Books. (CATALOG)

Eerdmans

Burke, Tony (ed.). New Testament Apocrypha: More Noncanonical Scriptures. Vol. 3. (CATALOG)

Wipf & Stock

Lollar, Jacob (trans.). The Doctrine of Addai and the Letters of Jesus and Abgar. (CATALOG)

Yale University Press

Smith, Geoffrey S., and Brent C. Landau. The Secret Gospel of Mark: A Controversial Scholar, a Scandalous Gospel of Jesus, and the Fierce Debate over Its Authenticity. (CATALOG)

Christian Apocrypha at SBL 2023

November 3, 2023 by Tony

The 2023 Annual Meeting of the Society of Biblical Literature runs from November 18 to 21 in San Antonio, Texas. The following is a list of all the sessions and individual presentations that focus on Christian Apocrypha

1. Christian Apocrypha Sessions

S19-114 Christian Apocrypha (9:00 AM to 11:30 AM)
Lily Vuong, Central Washington University, Presiding

Benjamin Lensink, Georg-August-Universität Göttingen: “Look at These Two Ugly Men, Whose Teeth Are like Milk and Their Lips Are like Soot: Demons in the Apocryphal Acts of Thomas.”

Benjamin M.J. De Vos, Ghent University: “A Disabled Saint and True Beauty: The Voice of Mattidia in the Pseudo-Clementine Homilies.”

Franz Gilbert Hetroza Biantan, University of Texas at Austin: “Acts of Thomas and Slavery in the Silk Road.”

Eric Cregheur, Université Laval: “The Acts of Thomas and of Peter? A Close Look at an Intriguing Text.”

Thomas Tops, Universität Regensburg: “Apostleship and Mission in the Acts of Andrew and the Acts of John.”

S19-311 Christian Apocrypha (4:00 PM to 6:00 PM)
Theme: Translating Christian Apocrypha

Tony Burke, York University: “What More Do You Need? The Next Wave in Christian Apocrypha Texts and Translations.”

David Calabro, Brigham Young University: “The Arabic History of Elijah in Deep Translation.”

Jacob A. Lollar, Alexander von Humboldt Foundation (Universität Regensburg): “Thekla in the Syriac Traditions: Critical Edition in Light of ‘New Philology.’”

Respondent: Janet Spittler, University of Virginia

S20-109 Christian Apocrypha (Joint Session with Syriac Studies) (9:00 AM to 11:30 AM)
Theme: Syriac Apocrypha
Kristian Heal, Brigham …

Apostolic Lists as Sources for, and Transmitters of, Apocryphal Traditions about the Apostles

July 24, 2023 by Tony

The following post is based on a presentation given at the 2023 Annual Meeting of the Canadian Society of Patristic Studies.

The exploits of the apostles are documented in a wide assortment of apocryphal acts composed between the second and sixth centuries, with expansions and transformations made in the centuries thereafter. A parallel stream of traditions is transmitted in a variety of lists of apostles and disciples that both inspired and were inspired by the apocryphal acts. Unfortunately, little scholarly attention has been paid to the lists—few have been translated into English, some have not yet been published, and with one exception, no survey of the material has appeared in apocrypha collections.

The urge to list apostles has its origins in the New Testament, with the call of the Twelve in the Synoptic Gospels (Mark 3:13–19 par.; also Acts 1:13); but these are not just a list of names, even at this early stage there is additional information provided: nicknames (Peter, the sons of thunder), relationships (Peter and Andrew are siblings; as are the two sons of Zebedee; James is the son of Alphaeus; Judas [not Iscariot], in Luke, is the son of James), and places of origin (Simon is a Canaanean; Judas is from Iscariot), and roles (Judas is a traitor; Matthew is a tax collector). There are also discrepancies between the lists: Thaddaeus (sometimes Labbaeus) in Matthew and Mark is absent in Luke, replaced by Judas son of James; Simon is not a Canaanean but a Zealot in …

Anchor Bible Report 17: James the Less

February 23, 2023 by Tony

It is Reading Week here in Canada, which means a break from teaching and a chance to get back to some (albeit very little) writing. I managed to finish off a section of my Anchor Bible project on apocrypha related to James the Less.

Besides the well-known apostle James, son of Zebedee (often called James the Great or Elder), three other men by the name of James appear in the New Testament Gospels: 1. James, son of Alphaeus, who is listed as one of the Twelve in all three Synoptics, 2. James the Less or Younger, who is said to be the son of Mary (not the Virgin, but identified, via John 19:25, as Mary, wife of Clopas and cousin to the Virgin Mary) and brother to Joseph/Joses (Matt 27:56; Mark 15:40), and 3. James the Righteous/Just, brother of Jesus. Often these three figures are conflated, so James Alphaeus’s place among the apostles is frequently supplanted by Jesus’ brother, despite the apparent lack of interest in Jesus’ ministry shown by him and his brothers in the canonical Gospels. Outside of the Gospels, James the Just appears also in Acts, Galatians (in both described as the “brother of the Lord”), and as the author of an epistle (calling himself “a servant of God and of Jesus Christ”). Because of the confusion of the Jameses, there are very few apocryphal texts and traditions about the son of Alphaeus. James the Just fares better, but much of what is said about him derives …

Anchor Bible Report 16: The Acts of Philip

December 14, 2022 by Tony

I have spent the past three weeks or so compiling information on the various traditions about the apostle Philip. The main one of course is the Acts of Philip, but there are also texts in Coptic (and from this Arabic and Ethiopic), Latin, and Irish. They will lead off my chapter on “other” apocryphal acts—that is, not the five “great” acts (Andrew, John, Peter, Paul, and Thomas) and related texts. This decision is based mostly on issues of space: the chapter on the big five is already really too long. But placing Philip in this “other” chapter is really a disservice to Acts Phil.

The text has been championed by only a few previous scholars—chiefly François Bovon and Christopher Matthews. M. R. James (1924: 438–39) early on declared that Acts Phil. belongs to the “secondary” stage of development of the apocryphal acts because it borrows material from the earlier texts, including part of the hymn material from the Acts of John and the Peter’s speech from the cross from the Acts of Peter. But Acts Phil. is still pretty early, likely composed not long after the others (fourth century but drawing upon material from the third). The diminishing of its importance has resulted in its virtual exclusion from Christian apocrypha collections, or at least the English compendia, which only present portions or summaries. But don’t despair, English readers can find it in the affordable translation by Bovon and Matthews (2012). And it’s worth seeking out, because this text …

2022 SBL Diary: Part Two

December 1, 2022 by Tony

My third day in Denver began early with a pilgrimage (of sorts) to Red Rocks Amphitheatre. To people of my age and musical interests, Red Rocks is famous as the recording site of U2’s career-breaking Under a Blood Red Sky EP and video. Plenty of other bands have played the venue also, some even willing to bring a larger show to this smaller theatre (aprox. 9500) just for the joy of playing in this stunning, and storied, location. I convinced two friends (and fellow U2 fans), Phil Harland and Bob Derrenbacker, to join me for the trek and we hailed an Uber to take us there. Once we arrived, we hauled our creaky bones up and down the flights of stairs, stood on the stage (if only I had brought an instrument; I could then say I played at Red Rocks!), and just soaked in the atmosphere. Bob even played a couple of U2 songs on his phone to capture the spirit of that seminal event. I think I even saw tears welling in Bob’s eyes. Quoting Nigel Tuffnell of Spinal Tap, I said, “It really puts perspective on things, though, doesn’t it?” On cue, Bob responded, “Too much. There’s too much fucking perspective now.”

With some Red Rocks merch in hand, we headed back to the conference centre for afternoon sessions. Jacob Lollar (Universität Regensburg) started the Apocryphal Acts session with “Canonizing Thekla: The Acts of Thekla and Her Legacy in the Syriac Tradition.” Lollar remarked that much work …

2022 SBL Diary: Part One

November 25, 2022 by Tony

Back in the pre-pandemic era, I would follow up my trip to the SBL Annual Meeting with a series of posts on the highlights of the sessions, receptions, and other activities (beginning in 2014 and including the last time SBL was at Denver in 2018). When the meeting went virtual and then hybrid, there wasn’t much to be said, though I did post my entire paper from last year’s online session (HERE). But it’s a new year and SBL was fully in-person this time (except for the occasional pre-recorded paper), so I stifled all of the anxiety that has been building in me over the past two years and headed off to Denver. Things did not start well. Reduced traveling seems to have had an effect on my trip-planning abilities and I inadvertently booked my flight under the name Tony instead of Anthony, the name on my passport. Thankfully I caught the error the day before my journey and a friendly guy at Expedia helped me fix the problem—though it did mean I had to cancel one flight and rebook (at an extra $300). Thanks Air Canada. Even the next day I was still uncertain that everything had been changed correctly. I knew I’d be able to get to Denver, I just didn’t know if I’d be able to get back.

Day 1 started by packing up my car with local SBLers and heading to the airport. Since I volunteered to drive, my wife advised me to …

Anchor Bible Report 15: The Apocryphal Lives of the Companions of Paul

November 14, 2022 by Tony

As my readers on Twitter are aware, I have been posting reports on my latest project: an introduction to Christian apocrypha for the Anchor Yale Bible Reference Library. I am back to the project after taking a month to complete the indices to More New Testament Apocrypha vol. 3, but I feel . . . disenchanted with Twitter lately and thought I would switch the forum for these reports to my neglected blog. There are no megalomaniacs or racists here, and no one to tell me how many characters I can use.

This past week I turned my attention away from the five “great” apocryphal acts and worked on some later acts focusing on the companions of Paul: Barnabas, Timothy, and Titus. I figured these texts would make a gentle re-entry into the project. All three main texts appear in MNTA 1 and have companion e-Clavis entries, so the scholarship should be up-to-date. Well, it’s been more difficult than I thought.

Joseph Barnabas appears in Acts as an “apostle” (14:14) and early recruit of the church in Jerusalem. He is introduced as a Jew from Cyprus who gave all of his money to the church (Acts 4:36–37). When Paul makes his first visit to the Jerusalem church, Barnabas comes to his defense (9:26–27) and then travels with Paul and John Mark until the group is divided (15:36–40)—Paul refuses to travel with John Mark because he had abandoned them in Pamphylia (13:13). Barnabas and John Mark sail away to Cyprus and …

Christian Apocrypha Books to Look for at SBL 2022

October 26, 2022 by Tony

Bloomsbury

Robertson, David G. Gnosticism and the History of Religions.

Brepols

McCollum, Joey, and Brent Niedergall. Acts of John.

Brill

Lanzillotta, Lautaro Roig, and Jacques van der Vliet. The Apocalypse of Paul (Visio Pauli) in Sahidic Coptic.

Cambridge

Baker, Robin. Mary Magdalene: A Cultural History.

Dabiri, Ghazzal, and Flavia Ruani. Thecla and Medieval Sainthood: The Acts of Paul and Thecla in Eastern and Western Hagiography.

Norman, Dawn LaValle. Early Christian Women. (Includes discussion of Thecla).

Eerdmans

Burke, Tony, ed. New Testament Apocrypha: More Noncanonical Scriptures. Vol. 3. (Page proofs available for preview).

Fortress

Vanden Eykel, Eric. The Magi: Who They Were, How They’ve Been Remembered, and Why They Still Fascinate.

Mohr Siebeck

Reed, Annette Yoshiko. Jewish-Christianity and the History of Judaism: Collected Essays.

Oxford

Le Boulluec, Alain. The Notion of Heresy in Greek Literature in the Second and Third Centuries. (French original 1985; newly translated into English).

Litwa, M. David. The Evil Creator. Origins of an Early Christian Idea.

Mendez, Hugo. The Cult of Stephen in Jerusalem: Inventing a Patron Martyr.

Peeters

Calzolari, V.M. The Apocryphal Acts of the Apostles in Armenian. Studies on Early Christian Apocrypha 18.

SBL Press

Lehtipuu, Outi, and Silke Petersen, eds. Ancient Christian Apocrypha. Marginalized …